Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Pascal Diatta & Sona Mané-Simnadé + 4

some of you might still remember this fine recording from freedomblues and grapewrath. it was too good to let it fade away and be forgotten once more so I decided to post it here anew,this time accompanied with the writing of the original poster esteemed (ex)blogger -musician and friend, Irate Pirate:

For any of you looking for the African equivalent of Joseph Spence and the Pinder Family, this is it. Like Spence, Pascal Diatta has a style all his own, as inimitable as it is distinctive and fitting to the music. Sudden stops and starts, rhythms that repeat like you wouldn't expect them to, and very hand-crafted harmonies make this album a treat of raw, funky, sparse, delicious music. It is totally devoid of pretension, and totally full of musicality. The guitar playing is so full of syncopation that practically every note and strum occurs when you wouldn't expect it, and is unlike any other African guitar styles, being based neither on the patterns of kora/ngoni nor on those of the mbira thumb piano. And like the Pinders, Sona Mané's vocals come from somewhere in the same dimension as the guitar: untrained, unexpected, unassuming, and fantastic!

On the surface, this music seems very naked, rough, even 'primitive'. And there is a sort of 3rd-world happiness that pervades the tunes which have a quality of celebratory ordinariness. But behind this rough, simple exterior we find a very complex sense of rhythm weaving its way through the guitar lines and a refreshingly honest directness to the singing which conveys the wealth of human experience through the prism of joyful shouts and wails. If you're anything like me, it may take a couple of listens to really 'get' it, but once you do, you won't be able to put it down! The music is totally infectious: it gets inside your skin and makes your heart jump, but without any of the usual tactics of pop production.

6 comments:

Ah, Nauma, thanks for posting this unique recording! I just recently digitized my record, preparing to present it - indeed a recording too good to fade away - the one linked here has the four extra tracks from the CD. So nice. Thanks again!

as our friend Bolingo says the more(rips)of a record,the merrier we are-I will gladly listen to your record rip when the time comes,Rhythm Connection.the more spots promoting (even the same)glorious African music the better,I'd say.I have stopped thinking in terms of followers, blog statistics and download numbers,we are all in for the same purpose-spread the music we love.thanks for passing by.

I read this and your previous message LolaR the above link worked fine here but I can provide an alternative in about an hour-slow connection here-starting from now.please come again.apologies for the strange numbers and letters ,I hate them toomy friend's link has died a long time now.